Shuffling along...praying...

A few months ago, I experienced a new thing in my prayer life: walking a labryinth. Have you heard of it? I guess my exposure to ancient spiritual disciplines is more limited in scope that many people, because growing up in the southern Baptist tradition, we were almost entirely focused on scripture reading and prayer...and when I say prayer, I'm talking about a process that looked alot like reading a grocery list of wishes and needs and concerns...I went through the list, and hoped that God would answer my prayers...which for me, usually meant that God would grant my wishes and requests. I would sprinkle in some 'thank you's' for various blessings received, but I didn't do much listening, because listening required sitting still and being quiet...2 behaviors that don't come easily to me.

This year I've been learning some new practices in my spiritual life - 2 of these new practices are contemplative prayer and walking a labryinth. A labryinth looks like a maze, and in fact, I guess it is a maze. As you walk along the path, no thought is required, because the path meanders along, leading you toward the end. Earlier in the spring of this year, I was pondering many things that felt heavy to me...end-of-life issues and the care of my Mom, career issues, relationship issues, and a few other items. Because sitting still is difficult for me, I decided to walk the labryinth at the retreat center where I was staying with friends for a few days. To my surprise, I found that walking along the path was a very powerful medium for prayer and meditation. I would start at the beginning of the labryinth, and simply whisper to God the topic which I needed to place before him as I walked the path. I found great comfort in the quiet, and in the methodical movement along the path...I shuffled along, kicked a few rocks along the way, and rustled up a fair amount of dust...and as the dust began to settle, I found a new measure of peace and clarity for the issues that confronted me.

In the movie "Shawshank Redemption," there is a scene where Andy Dufrene is walking through the prison yard, allowing dirt and cement rubble to fall through a hole in his pants pocket and onto the ground around his shoes...if you've scene the movie, you'll remember that this was part of a process that allowed Andy, over a period of 20 years, to gradually work his way through the prison walls on his way to freedom...

...if you have a chance to walk a dusty labryinth and lay your weighty concerns before the Lord, perhaps you can visualize your burdens falling to the ground as you walk along the path...slowly, quietly, praying your way to greater freedom...